OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients with lumbosacral (LS) radiculopathy and peripheral polyneuropathy (PPNP) exhibit sudomotor abnormalities and whether SUDOSCAN (Impeto Medical, Paris, France) can complement nerve conduction study (NCS) and electromyography (EMG). METHODS: Outpatients with lower extremity dysesthesia underwent electrophysiologic studies and SUDOSCAN. They were classified as normal (group A), LS radiculopathy (group B), or PPNP (group C). Pain severity was measured by the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI) and visual analogue scale (VAS). Demographic features, electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) values on hands and feet, and SUDOSCAN-risk scores were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences in MNSI and VAS among the three groups. Feet-ESC and hands-ESC values in group C were lower than group A and B. SUDOSCAN-risk score in group B and C was higher than group A. With a cut-off at 48 microSiemens of feet-ESC, PPNP was detected with 57.1% sensitivity and 94.2% specificity (area under the curve [AUC]=0.780; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0646–0.915). With a SUDOSCAN-risk score cut-off at 29%, NCS and EMG abnormalities related to LS radiculopathy and PPNP were detected with 64.1% sensitivity and 84.2% specificity (AUC=0.750; 95% CI, 0.674–0.886). CONCLUSION: SUDOSCAN can discriminate outpatients with abnormal electrophysiological findings and sudomotor dysfunction. This technology may be a complementary tool to NCS and EMG in outpatients with lower extremity dysesthesia.
Complement System Proteins ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis* ; Electromyography ; Erythromelalgia ; Foot ; Galvanic Skin Response ; Hand ; Humans ; Lower Extremity* ; Mass Screening ; Michigan ; Neural Conduction ; Outpatients ; Paresthesia* ; Polyneuropathies ; Radiculopathy ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin

The objective was to identify the correlation between the sign of lower limb swelling and unilateral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with brain lesions. A total of 194 patients, between May 12th, 2011 and December 30th, 2015, who had initially elevated plasma D-dimer level (> 0.55 mg/L) and underwent enhanced DVT computed tomography (CT) were recruited in this study. The circumference of bilateral lower limbs in CT image, below 10 cm and above 15 cm from the prominence of tibial tuberosity, were measured by a single intra-observer using NIH ImageJ software. The difference of 2 cm or more between both sides was considered as significant swelling. We also evaluated patients' range of mobility and cognitive function and its relation to lower limb swelling in DVT in patients with brain lesions. Thirty-five patients were diagnosed with DVT. The presence of lower limb swelling was not statistically significant between patients with DVT and those without DVT in the proximal limb (p = 0.330) and distal limb (p = 0.405). In DVT patients (n = 35), there was no statistically significant correlation between lower limb swelling and other covariates of the patient group. There was no statistically significant correlation between lower limb circumference and DVT.
Brain* ; Cognition ; Extremities ; Humans ; Lower Extremity* ; Plasma ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Venous Thrombosis*

Although pulmonary artery angiosarcoma is rare, it can be misdiagnosed as pulmonary embolism because of its similar clinical and diagnostic features. The diagnosis is often delayed and the misdiagnosis brings unnecessary treatment. Because we made a wrong diagnosis of pulmonary artery angiosarcoma as an acute pulmonary embolism, we did thrombolytic therapy which could be dangerous to the patient. In this case report, we focused on the clinical and echocardiographic features of pulmonary artery angiosarcoma which can be used in differentiating the diagnosis from pulmonary embolism.
Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Echocardiography* ; Hemangiosarcoma* ; Humans ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Thrombolytic Therapy

Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) of the lung is a rare condition with the potential for malignant transformation. Several cases that presented with malignant changes have been reported worldwide. However, no report about a malignant transformation case in a CCAM in Korea has been published. We report the first patient who had a malignant change in a CCAM. A 32-year-old female underwent a bilobectomy for a cystic lung lesion that was a type 1 CCAM associated with malignant transformation. A biopsy specimen from the resected cystic lesion showed foci of adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation of Lung, Congenital* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung

Melatonin affects diverse physiological functions through its receptor and plays an important role in the central nervous system. In the present study, we compared immunoreactivity patterns of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), an enzyme essential for melatonin synthesis, and melatonin receptor type 1B (MT2) in the spinal cord of young adult (2~3 years) and aged (10~12 years) beagle dogs using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. AANAT-specific immunoreactivity was observed in the nuclei of spinal neurons, and was significantly increased in aged dog spinal neurons compared to young adult spinal neurons. MT2-specific immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm of spinal neurons, and was predominantly increased in the margin of the neuron cytoplasm in aged spinal cord compared to that in the young adult dogs. These increased levels of AANAT and MT2 immunoreactivity in aged spinal cord might be a feature of normal aging and associated with a feedback mechanism that compensates for decreased production of melatonin during aging.
Age Factors ; Aging/physiology ; Animals ; Arylalkylamine N-Acetyltransferase/*analysis/immunology/physiology ; Blotting, Western ; Dogs ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Male ; Receptor, Melatonin, MT2/*analysis/immunology/physiology ; Spinal Cord/*chemistry/immunology/physiology

Epithelial colon polyps are largely divided into hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps. Adenomatous polyps are premalignant lesions, whereas hyperplastic polyps are regarded as benign lesions. However, this histological classification has been blurred, as cases of malignant changes in hyperplastic polyposis, mixed hyperplastic adenomatous polyps (MHAPs), and serrated adenomas in the colon have been reported. Rare cases of MHAP have been reported, and are mainly found at the proximal colon with a relatively large size. MHAPs seem to be an intermediate stage of the hyperplastic polyp-adenoma sequence or a collision tumor. Here, we report on a case of a single polyp in the rectum diagnosed with a MHAP combined with an invasive adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma ; Adenomatous Polyps ; Colon ; Polyps ; Rectum

Klippel - Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is characterized by a cutaneous vascular nevus of the involved extremity, bone and soft tissue hypertrophy of the extremity and venous malformations. We present a case of KTS with splenic hemangiomas and rectal varices. A 29-year-old woman was referred for intermittent hematochezia for several years. She had history with a number of operations for cutaneous and soft tissue hamangiomas since the age of one year old and for increased circumference of her left thigh during the last few months. Abdominal CT revealed multiple hemangiomas in the spleen, fusiform aneurysmal dilatation of the deep veins and soft tissue hemangiomas. There was no evidence of hepatosplenomegaly or liver cirrhosis. Colonoscopy revealed hemangiomatous involvement in the rectum. There were rectal varices without evidence of active bleeding. Upon venography of the left leg, we also found infiltrative dilated superficial veins in the subcutaneous tissue and aneurysmal dilatation of the deep veins. The patient was finally diagnosed with KTS, and treated with oral iron supplementation only, which has been tolerable to date. Intervention or surgery is not required. When gastrointestinal varices or hemangiomatous mucosal changes are detected in a young patient without definite underlying cause, KTS should be considered.
Adult ; Colonoscopy ; Female ; Hemangioma/*complications ; Humans ; Iron, Dietary/therapeutic use ; Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Rectum/blood supply ; Spleen/blood supply ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; *Varicose Veins

Capsule endoscopy (CE) is a valuable modality for directly examining the small bowel in a relatively noninvasive and safe manner. CE is being increasingly used for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, Crohn's disease, drug induced ulcer and small bowel tumor. Although capsule retention is a relatively infrequent complication, small bowel obstruction and strictures have been considered contraindications to CE. But some authors have reported that capsule endoscopy can be safely used to help identify the etiology and site of small bowel obstruction, and the retention of the capsule indicates the presence of a lesion requiring surgery. We report here on a case of small bowel obstruction and capsule retention by a small bowel ulcer, and the small bowel ulcer was not found when performing capsule endoscopy.
Capsule Endoscopy ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Crohn Disease ; Endoscopy ; Hemorrhage ; Retention (Psychology) ; Ulcer

PURPOSE: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death, especially among young people. Life-threatening conditions are very common in multiple-traumatized patients due to concurrent multi-organ injuries. Treating such severely injured patients is time critical. However, in Korea, the transfer of severely injured patients is not uncommon due to the lack of a mature trauma care system. In developed countries, the preventable trauma death rate is very low, but the rate is still very high in Korea. This study's objective was to demonstrate the current serious state in which severely injured patients have to be transferred from a Regional Emergency Medical Center even though it actually serves as a trauma center. METHODS: Ajou University Medical Center is a tertiary hospital that serves as a trauma center in Gyeonggi-do. The medical records at Ajou University Medical Center for a 1-year period from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2008, were retrospectively reviewed. A severely injured patient was defined as a patient who showed more than 15 point on the ISS (injury severity score) scale. We investigated the clinical characteristics of such patients and the causes of transfer. RESULTS: Out of 81,718 patients who visited the Regional Emergency Medical Center, 19,731 (24.1%) were injured patients. Among them, 108 severely-injured patients were transferred from one Regional Emergency Medical Center to other hospitals. The male-to-female ratio was about 3.5:1, and the mean ISS was 23.08. The most common mechanism of injury was traffic accidents (41.7%). A major cause of transfer was the shortage of intensive care units (44.4%); another was for emergent operation (27.8%). Most of the hospitals that received the severely-injured patients were secondary hospitals (86.1%). CONCLUSION: Although the Regional Emergency Medical Center played a role as a trauma center, actually, severely-injured patients had to be transferred to other hospitals for several reasons. Most reasons were related with the deficiencies in the trauma care system. If a mature trauma care system is well-organized, the numbers of transfer of severely injured patients will be reduced significantly.
Academic Medical Centers ; Accidents, Traffic ; Cause of Death ; Developed Countries ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Trauma Centers

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor is a common type of gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumor. Depending on the patient's age, compliance and health status, and the level of suspicion of malignancy, tumors < or =3 cm in size are typically monitored annually by endoscopic ultrasonography. The examination interval can be extended if no size change is noted on consecutive examinations. We report here on a 44-year-old female who presented with abdominal discomfort and displayed no size change of her gastrointestinal stromal tumor on three consecutive endoscopies over a 44-month interval. The patient was diagnosed with malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor on the basis of the evident ulceration seen on esophagogastroduodenoscopy and the inhomogenous echo noted on the endoscopic ultrasonography and the pathologic findings by gastric wedge resection.
Adult ; Compliance ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Endosonography ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; Humans ; Ulcer